BOCA RATON, Fla. — It all ended so quickly for the Americans in the men’s Olympic hockey tournament. They got to overtime against the Czech Republic in the medal round. They had their opportunities. A hit crossbar. A power play in overtime. Then, maybe the worst way to lose a meaningful hockey game, a shootout that went the other direction.

In the locker room afterward, the players were crushed. There were tears.

Head coach Tony Granato spoke to the team and let them know that Jim Johannson would have been proud of them — proud of the way they competed, proud of the way they represented USA Hockey. That was part of the devastation; this group of guys, hand-picked by Johannson, wanted badly to win gold in his honor. Johannson, the team’s GM, died in January.

But sports, no matter how desperately you want to control the outcome, don’t always cooperate.

Now, the Americans are starting to plan for another tournament, another opportunity...